Curious Why HOV Lane Rules Aren't Enforced

AP

They're called carpool lanes or high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes and they're supposed to reward commuters who have at least 2 people in their cars. But a lot of you are telling us that's not what's happening.

Dan from Methuen went to our Curiosity webpage and asked: "Why are single occupant vehicles allowed to sail down Rt. 93 in the HOV lane without repercussion while I sit in traffic and fume!!"

And Jack from Melrose wants to know: "Why the 93 south carpool lane is never enforced in the morning?"

On a typical busy morning commute the traffic coming down Rt. 93 south into Boston is jammed, but not on the carpool lane where they're zipping along. The problem is, not all of them are carpoolers. We saw plenty of cars with just one person in them, and we're not alone.

"You do see people driving down that commuter lane with a single driver every day," says Erin Berger who commutes from Haverhill Monday through Friday. "It's almost like punishment that you're following the law," she adds.

We made the drive alongside the carpool lane during morning rush on several occasions, and our producer commutes down 93 south every workday, and we didn't see any enforcement.

"Maybe we don't have the manpower to have somebody out there patrolling it all the time," says one woman who drives alone and watches, with envy, as other single riders take the HOV lane. And her theory is correct.

The State Police have jurisdiction over the highway and say there's no money for a paid detail to monitor the lane every day. A State Police spokesman wouldn't do an on camera interview about this, but sent us a statement saying the goal is to patrol the area "2-3 mornings per week, but that presence varies according to available resources."

Read: Full Statement From MA State Police

But a paid detail officer is regularly watching the HOV lanes on the Southeast Expressway South of Boston, also called the zipper lanes. The Massachusetts Highway Department foots the bill for that. Why?

The agency says it does that because if a car breaks down in the zipper lane, traffic can't get around it and they need a police officer there to respond quickly, while to the north of the city, Mass. Highway says cars can go over the median strip to get around a breakdown in the carpool lane. That means Mass. Highway isn't paying for a detail officer north of Boston and says it's up to the State Police to enforce the rules there.

But Your Carpool Curiosities Don't End There.

Mark from Weymouth went to our curiosity page and asked: "I'm curious why I'm sitting in traffic and every day I see state troopers and other law enforcement vehicles allowed to drive in the HOV lane. I don't see 2+ people in their vehicles."

We saw the same thing.

During one afternoon commute we staked out the location with our camera. In about 30 minutes we saw what looked like 2 unmarked police cars flash their blue lights at the officer on duty and be allowed into the HOV lane with only the driver in the car. We also saw a pickup truck do the same thing. The State Police say some of their officers drive unmarked pickups. Seeing these kinds of vehicles using the lane aggravates a lot of you, but we found out it is allowed.

"I do find it frustrating," says commuter Erin Berger.

And who can blame her. She's stuck in traffic while those breaking the rules or making the rules zip along.

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